Author: admin

So we trundled off in The Van but when we looked up Mick’s actual addres whilst en-route, we saw the it was actually 23kn PAST Almeria and in a place called Roquetas de Mar so that’s where we went…

On the outskirts of town, we saw a massive shopping complex so pulled off as we needed a few bits & popped into the Lidl’s next door.  Came back to The Van, Dave turned the key and…

Click but NOTHING…

Like a flat battery in the old days…

Dave mutters things like “This isn’t good…” and “The immobiliser is f@cked !”…

I have learned in situations like this to say nothing…

Then he picks up his phone & goes into some app (our entire LIFE is controlled by one app or another on Dave’s phone 😐)

Now it’s Saturday evening and Dave has dumped The Van sideways across 3 or 4 parking spaces and all I can think is, “I’ll have to go in with my Google Translate (APP !!!) on my phone and try to explain what’s happened and NOT to give us a ticket which Dave will refuse to pay and which will follow us around for the next 10 years before eventually getting us both thrown into a Spanish prison – as it will be MONDAY at least before we’ll be able to get hold of anyone to sort this”…

The suddenly after about 5 minutes or maybe a bit more (it FELT like more !!!) suddenly The Van kicks back into life 🥳 !!!

He said he’d immobilised it earlier in the day (so nobody could steal it whilst we were site-seeing in Cartagena) and it had set off from THERE OK, but then clearly got a little confused later in the day !!!  Anyway he sent some command via some app on his phone and sorted it 😅

There was only ONE official “Camping Park” in the area and I’d given them a ring on the way but they were full.  `On the Park4Night (APP !) there were apparently also 15 designated motorhome spaces in a beach-side carpark with a vibrant cafe on-site but… that was also full.

It was getting quite late by then so – although Mick & Debs were not due to arrive until the Sunday afternoon – we ended up parking on the road outside their apartment, had some dinner and all was well…

The Catholic (obviously) church “Iglesia de Santa María de Gracia” was mentioned a fair bit in the museum in Castillo de la Concepcion and was already on my list to visit.  Google said it closed between 2pm and 5pm so we headed there after the castle about 1pm…

… and it was closed 😞

And there were no signs saying WHEN it was open and no signs even saying the name of the church – it was just closed…

But – as we were there – the first photo below is of the outside…

So we then decided to go for cake & coffee.  We were right in the bustling centre & saw a lovely cakey place so I bagged a table in the sunshine and told Dave to go in & choose a cake and take a piccie to show me – which he did.  He wanted the massive creamy thing with like a toffee topping then said he felt sick 🤢 after eating it !!! I was a bit more moderate & chose a small sweet pastry filled with confectioners cream (which I haven’t had since the 1970’s !!!) and – as Goldilocks said –  it was just right 😋

The OTHER church that was on my list was Iglesia de Santo Domingo – also in the centre a few minutes walk away – so we visited there and I got my fix… ☦️

After here we TRIED (really hard) to visit the “Roman Theatre” (not the old amphi-theatre next to the lift that we’d taken photos of up at the top earlier) – this was a different place.  Google Ma[s took us to it but we couldn’t – for love nor money – find the ticket office & entrance – even though we SEE other visitors inside. 

Cartagena is quite hilly and Dave was SURE that if we went HIS way, we would come to the entrance – but even though we walked all the way around (including a steep hill) – we ended back where we’d started….

The last piccie below IS of the place from the OUTSIDE looking down 😂 (but sadly not any taken on the inside…)

Dave was hacked off by then so we headed back to The Van and bid Cartegena farewell (as we didn’t fancy another disturbed night) and headed for Almeria (pronounce “Al-Maria’ – not as I was saying it “Al-Mair-ee-a” !!!) where we were due to meet Dave’s childhood best friend – Michael Vincent Taylor (AKA “Mick”) and his partner Debs for more fun & frolicks…

So (after a slightly groggy start after the disturbed night) we got ready & started out on our Day of Culture…

First stop the was the panoramic lift (€4.25 which included entry into a castle up at the top). Check out the chins on the photo we took as we waited for the lift to arrive 😂.

The lift with the bridge was very reminiscent of Shanklin Cliff Lift (which we live next door to) so I’ve included a piccie of that too !.

The lift takes you to the highest point I the city where the 13th and 14th century fortress of the Castillo de la Concepcion stands offering fabulous views over the city & port.  

See piccies of the Roman amphitheater & the panoramic lift (behind me & the palm tree 🏝) and also Dave standing on some ruins in a Usain Bolt stance !!!

Then we wandered into the castle – a lot of which has been added to & modernised to form a museum now devoted to the history of Cartagena.  See spiral staircase (which we DIDN’T go up or down as Dave has an aversion !!!) and also everyone in the Middle Ages must have been short as we had to crouch to get from room to room – see Dave in action below… 😂

We watched a couple of info films (with English subtitles) and discovered Cartagena has Islamic roots but the good old Crusaders came along and put their Christian stamp on the place.   So they all had to convert to Christianity or leave.  Apparently they converted but still practised their own religion until King Alfonso X (“Alfonso The Wise”) got into power and deported them in the 13th century…

We came out then had a wander round El Parque Torres (Torres Park) where there was a lovely (very tame) peacock that some Spaniards were feeding then we came back down…

• Location: 37° 36′ 6.75″ N 0° 58′ 54.05″ W

Got up, showered, packed up & left the site, got a phone call from the site about 60 seconds later saying we’d left without paying the ‘leccy bill 😂 (ACSI – “inexpensive out of season camping” my @rse – I would have dried my hair in THEIR bathroom instead of mine if I would have known I was paying for it 😂). No – we went back and it was only €7 something for 3 nights which was fine…

Typed in “Cartagena” (which Jacky & Dolan advised us was pronounced “CartaHena”) which was about 2 hours away and trundled off…

We needed a few bits so when we saw a Carrefour in a shopping complex off the motorway, we pulled off and it was a MASSIVE shopping outlet. We had a lovely lunch at a Grill place (we did “halvsies” with a chicken club sandwich & fries and a pulled pork burrito – clearly not YET on the diet !!!) got some bits from Carrefour and then went to PRIMANI’s (I kid you not 😂 – see piccie below !!!)

I was a bit all-over-the-place when I was packing for this trip as some of my clothes were in our apartment, some in the wardrobes in the guesthouse & some in the 3-bed apartment and we’d had Holly & Marcus staying for Christmas & we were rushing to get back to the mainland for New Year and I was cold so packed a lot of jumpers – and not a lot for the sunshine… 😎

So I said I’d get some stuff from Primani’s (and Dave said he could do with another pair of shorts so bibbed off to the Men’s Department) but quickly re-appeared and said there weren’t any as they only had winter stuff in (and he was right 😔) – it was the same in the Women’s Department too… So I ended up with a new €2.50 navy camisole (as I couldn’t find mine when I was packing)…

Not too fussed as I know the shops in Nerja – and they will have anything we may need – and we’ll be there in a few days…

And if you are wondering why there is a photo of my backside – well – as we have been travelling through France and Spain – they tend to have a lot of toll roads – so the piccie below demonstrates me reaching out to get a ticket or pay…

And I am now drinking a glass of pink fizz writing this as we are parked up in the Cartagena University car park (found it on Park4Night) which is free – and with it being the weekend – is a perfect base to explore the port, the Roman Theatre & other cultural bits tomorrow so TTFN xxx

So we just chilled on Thursday. Had (another !) lay-in, and whilst I updated the blog & got dressed, My Dave prepared a veritable feast with all the leftovers in the fridge and we had lunch – with wine – sitting outside The Van (see piccie below). Then had a lazy afternoon…

When I’d previously Googled “Things to do in Benidorm” top of the list was a show called “Terra” described as “A tribute to mother nature and planet Earth, our home” featuring “dinner with live music, visual attractions, humour, and magic, Illuminated with 250 square meters of innovative, high-definition LED screens”.

And for me – that’s what gave it the edge – these massive LED screens with magical, ever-changing backdrops at the back of the widest stage I have ever seen (and Dave and I HAVE seen a few shows – including Shanklin Theatre (!), Sydney Opera House, Las Vegas, Sun City in South Africa to name but a few – and this was up there with the best of them…)

So we arrived just after 8pm (& it was only a 7 minute walk from the campsite) and had an “official” photo taken (plus more “official” photos at the dinner table later but we didn’t purchase any as we BOTH looked MASSIVE (my sister would say “we look well” !!!) – too much “good living” so we are BOTH DEFS on a diet when we get back…)

We ordered a bottle of fizz 🥂 and then the food appeared consisting of:-

… and it was all bloddy lovely 😋

A band rose up out of floor as we ate playing Jazz – so Dave was happy (listening to a sax 🎷 TWO nights on the trot !!!). When they finished a band with a singer appeared and sang “crowd pleasers” and the peeps who weren’t eating got up to dance !!!

Then the main show started at 10pm and you weren’t allowed to take photos or video any of it but I’ve grabbed a few photos from t’internet of the bits that we saw – and it WAS tremendous…

… and we were safely home & tucked up in bed by 1am 😴

Another fun-filled evening 😊

(BUT at the best part of £200 for the evening, we’re on rice & beans for the next few days 😂)

P.S. From the previous post – first piccie below is of a “double” mobility scooter – as we sat on “the front” yesterday, we literally must have seen about 30 “single” mobility scooters (oooh forgot to say – one of which rammed somebody in the market earlier in the day & there was a RIGHT hoo-ha !!!) and a dozen of these new “double” ones (that neither of us had seen before) !!! It is BIG business over here 💰 !!!

Anyway, so after we’d polished off the second litre of sangria, we bibbed back to the Old Town as Dave had spotted a place the previous night that looked like it did a good steak. However – for Spain – even in January – 6pm is a little early & the place wasn’t yet open so we ended up at the place next door and My Dave had a sirloin – rare (and it was nearly moo-ing – he said it was cooked well) and I was a bit let down – I felt a bit rushed (as the guy had come to us twice) so ended up with a Spanish version of ham, egg & potatoes 🙁

When asked what we’d like to drink, Dave suggested more sangria and I declared I was “Sangria’d-Out” but then ordered a Tinto De Verano (“summer red wine” – red wine, soft drink & ice – mine came pre-made in a bottle and was 4.5% alcohol like an alco-pop – and was essentially the same as Sangria without the marinated fruit !!!) whilst Dave managed to down 2 more beers 🍻

In the Old Town where we ate they had lovely heaters & we were toasty but it gets chilly after about 5pm so I wasn’t looking forward to the cycle back (Dave asked me if I’d like to go on somewhere but I said I’d like a cup of tea back at base… 👵)

We’d got about halfway back when Dave veered off down a side street announcing he could hear singing (and thought it was a karaoke bar) however when we got there there was the most fantastic SAXOPHONIST playing “crowd pleasers” in this English Bar…

We locked up the bikes & went in around 7:30pm. My Dave bought the guy a drink afterwards he apparently does an hour and we caught the second half of his act & he was PHENOMENAL !!! See little video below…

THEN at 8pm this Scottish (or “Scotch” as my sister & I like to call them) guitarist came on – and he was OK – but nothing LIKE as entertaining as the sax guy…

He played until 9:30pm and then “Francesco Jackson” came on – basically he was an MJ dance tribute – he didn’t sing but he had the videos playing in the background and literally was totally in sync with the moves – he was also brilliant !!! See little vid also below…

2 vino blanco’s and 3 cerveza’s later, we cycled back around 10:30pm and I (finally) had my cup of tea and a brioche bun & Nutella – and Dave had a port – and said this morning that he can’t remember coming to bed 😂

But a good time was had by all !!!

P.S. Note to my brother-in-law, Paulie – I am a complete “flat-head” (not “fizz-bomb” or “smart-cut” 😂) on the photos below as I’d been wearing my Ozzie leather cowgirl hat to shield me from the sun all day and had “hat hair” (and I cut my own fringe AGAIN the other day… 🙁 )

So we had a lay-in, Dave got the bikes ready and we headed off into “town” but we’d just got outside the campsite & cycled a tiny way when YAY – we came upon a Spanish Market 🥳 !!! And it was a BIG one – rows and rows of the same stuff…

The main difference I noticed (from the last time I went around a Spanish market) was the lack of prices on a lot of the stalls. I can’t be bothered to see a nice top, ask how much it is, have them say €50, I have to say €1, pretend to walk away and we eventually meet at somewhere around €15-20… For all that I’m (supposedly) not exactly an introvert (!), I detest bartering with a vengeance 😡. I just want them to set (& display) a fair price and (if I want it) I’ll pay it – no questions asked !!!

Dave honed in on the “man” stalls (selling haberdashery items) and ended up with a “Helping Handle” (a handle with big suckers which I think is probably to help disabled peeps get out of the bath) but which My Dave will be attaching to the garage door of the motorhome as the current handles incorporate a lock and are (according to Dave) a rubbish design as he’s replaced the barrel lock on one of them already. I reckon it will just get dust & crap under the suckers & fall off on the motorway on the first trip but what do I know ? Anyway €10 later and he was a happy man !!!

He also ended up with a 15 metre “Magic Hose” which I think is going to help with putting water into The Van (which is “blue” job so I don’t get involved… 😂). He originally picked up the 30 metre one, asked the stall holder how much and I think the guy said €30, so Dave put it back, said “too much” and started to walk away (Ya-de-ya – see ? What did I say ???).

“You tell me how much you pay” says Mr Spanish Stallholder, “€10” says My Dave, “No, this is very long cable, you must buy short cable for €15”. Dave then asks ME if 15 metres is enough (blue job – not my remit) so the guy leaves his stall unattended and takes 15 large strides away from his stall then calls & waves to Dave to say that’s 15 metres and Dave barters him down to €12 and walks away happy – again…

I rest my case 😐

We didn’t have much cash (about €6 left over in the bum bag from our 2019 trip), €2.50 of which Dave spent on a new zippy wallet thing for his credit cards when he first walked into the market – so with the €3 that were left, I bought a little multi-coloured sparkly bead stretch bracelet and 2 pairs of sparkly earrings with steel posts (which in theory shouldn’t make my ears to green – but only time will tell !!!)

{ I’m actually in the market for a new leather jacket as I had three PVC ones which have all perished so I’ve chucked them – and there’s a few nice leather shops in Nerja (where Dave’s brother lives) so I’m saving myself for there… }

Piccies below of me outside the market (as we left), then down on “the front” at “Moon Beach” where we had a light lunch & a drinkie (and it was hot – 21 degrees supposedly but it felt hotter) and perused our purchases…

Then we had a little wander around the shops, had an ice cream & then settled down at another place at the opposite end of “the front” – 2 litres of Sangria later…

The final few piccies below are have “The Rock” in the background as it reminded me of the rock at Weston-Super-Mare (but it’s a bit warmer 😎 !!!)

And although it doesn’t really show it in the background, there WERE quite a few bikini-clad peeps on loungers on the beach and in the sea – just like a REAL summer holiday !!!

• Location: 38° 32′ 26.98″ N 0° 6′ 40.47″ W